Twisted
by Clementive
Summary: [AU] Tenten became twisted the second Neji died, she decided. Shikamaru became twisted the second he stepped into Neji 's shadow. At the Hyuuga's funeral, ensued a tale of twisted physical attraction that formed a love triangle with a ghost. So begins their tale and a painful walk through the five stages of grief. ShikaTen and one-sided NejiTen.
1. Denial

_**This is my entry for the Fall Friends with Benefits Challenge. Since Neji, Tenten and Shikamaru are involved, it's dark, twisted but sexy. **_

_**Pairing: ShikaTen is a crack pairing so I decided to go all the way against the usual trends. Minor/light mentions of: InoCho, KibaHina, NejiSaku.**_

_**Word count: 3347 words**_

_**Warning: This fic is rated M for language, mature themes and character death. Despite the fact that everything is non-explicit, it is rated M for a reason. Please, if you are underage, take this into consideration before reading. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

_**I tried something new: the first point of view thing, which is from Tenten's POV. So here is a small legend designed to prevent anyone of feeling the slightest bits of confusion: **_

Normal police_**: Tenten's POV**_

_Italics__**: Omniscient narrator**_

_**Enjoy! :) **_

_Tenten became twisted the second he died, she decided. When his shy cousin showed up at her office a small card in her hands and dark circles under her eyes, she decided she wouldn't cry, would live on as his anonymous widow so that she would have the strength to deny his death until her own._

_Tenten would deny it until the end but she became twisted in law school, when she fell in love with Neji Hyuuga._

-X-

**Two days before Neji Hyuuga's death…**

"Are you here for a deal, Hyuuga?" I smirked watching Neji carefully as he sat down in front of me, his suit neatly unbuttoned.

I hated how my voice sounded when I was dressed as the procurer.

I hated how handsome he looked.

I hated how much I loved him despite the years and his coldness.

Every movement of the defense attorney held an inhumane grace and every time I watched him, I felt like an ugly duckling. Every time, the truth damned on me, crawled under my skin and I screamed behind the procurer's mask. I worked hard, hoping I could fix myself or at least the pallid reflection of myself I could see in his pearl eyes, hoping he would finally see me beyond the mask of the procurer.

_Pathetic_. Avoiding his glance, I busied myself with laying papers, my books of law neatly displayed behind me around my ancient weapon collection. Throughout the years, my office had changed, got larger and they were my hunt trophies; the metaphoric heads of criminals I had put behind bars. It intimidated any defense lawyer walking into my office; they would sweat even. But not Neji Hyuuga.

The prodigy had a reputation that followed him like an evil shadow set out to kill anyone standing on his path to greatness. He was a natural at anything he did and I was a hard-worker. The first time we met in court, he destroyed my defense within a few sentences.

I worked harder, slept less and I managed to put his clients behind bars, fighting every feeling bubbling up inside of me while doing so. Yet, he would smirk at the end of each trial shaking hands with his client and I would die a little more each time; his clients were always sentenced for less than anticipated. It was his win, every time.

I kept fighting and he kept dodging all of my attacks. Sometimes, I would throw my paperwork in the living room, raged through the study, wild sobs tearing me open. My loft was the only place where the procurer disappeared and feelings erupted.

It was messy, deafening and twisted.

Because I loved him and he never did.

"Two years," he sternly answered looking down for a brief moment at his watch. My laugh erupted in my office and I shook my head leaning back against my seat.

"Children stealing chocolate bunnies during Easter time had been sentenced to more than two years, Hyuuga. This is ridiculous," I rose to my feet, opened a drawer of my filling cabinet. I pulled out the file of his client and waved it in front of Neji's face. "Your client killed a security guard from his car while his accomplice robbed a jewelry story. He even stormed out of the crime scene instead of reporting it." Roughly, I replaced the file and with a movement of the hip, I closed the drawer.

"My client was driving a _friend_. It was dark and he thought he was merely defending himself against a man who pulled a gun at him. You know very well this is how the jury will see it. Do yourself a favor and accept it. Two years."

There were moments when his presence would only bring up my darkest side and the darkness inside of me would twist, reaching out of me and I was a procurer again. I walked to back to my seat.

He'd made me into who I was, there was no point in denying it. Inside and out, he was the architect of my very existence. I laced my fingers together leaning forward on my desk.

Couldn't he see the Saharan sabre behind me? I was more than a scared stray cat in a courtroom. I could fight and one day, I would win.

"Well, then I will remind you in court that if he were just driving, he wouldn't have needed that gun on the passenger seat for starters." We glared at one another and again, I hoped for him to pull up a fight but he looked down once more at his watch and my heart sank. "I trust you can see yourself out." I coldly added instead my eyes aimlessly running across the paperwork in front of me.

"Hn," he stood up, buttoned his expensive jacket and stared down at me with expressionless orbs. "As you wish but it would be shameful for you, Ling."

"The door, Hyuuga," I repeated her heart freezing in her chest. My eyes burnt and tears welled up. I gagged in cold raw pain. "Close it behind you."

The door closed and his eyes fell on the golden embedded name onto it. I heard him cursed under his breath as he hesitated as always, his hand still on the door handle. Next to my office door, it read _Tenten Zhang_.

It was the tenth time, he mistook me for someone I wasn't. My hand reached for the Saharan sabre, caressing the fine work of the steel with light fingers.

I was definitely no stray cat. I just wished he could see that or least see me for who I was.

-X-

_Two days later, when his lazy partner showed in court instead of him, her mask almost severed. She caught herself on time, at the sound of the mallet. Her voice rang stonily in court and she cut through the fat client. Over and over. She was a lion, a queen, a warrior. Her arguments were savage and pitiless. _

_She won but it tasted bitter as the spiky headed lawyer made his way to her. Somehow, she already knew; it was written all over his face, it hung to his gait, to the way he gently leaned forward as if she were a porcelain doll._

_Neji Hyuuga was dead._

_The mask crumbled at her feet and she hurled. Over and over._

_This was the first time, Shikamaru held her, breathed in her scent, felt her tears running down his neck. At the time, he thought it would be the first and last time. At that time, he still hadn't had the idea of following to a bar a few hours after the funeral._

-X-

**Four days after Neji Hyuuga's death…**

There's something so strange when someone dies; you still expected him to show, still wait for him at every corner. 'It was a bad dream, it was a joke,' this is what you expected him to say once he showed up. Except he never did.

So you masked the truth, applied kohl under your eyes, curled your eyelashes as if he were still there to see. You simply denied him the right to die.

"Tennie?" Ino Yamanaka bit her below lip as she watched me reddened my high cheek bones in slow deliberate movements. The mask needed to be perfect as to never crack.

Still, I didn't trust my voice to remain even and strong. Not with the concern I could see in her eyes.

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you want to go? No one will hold it against you if you didn't show." She asked quietly leaning against the doorframe of her bathroom. She had insisted I stayed with her for a couple of days to watch over me. I paused for a moment staring at her fair skin, at her blond silver-like hair and her black dress.

"I was invited so I will go."

The blond haired woman bit her below lip harder, drawing blood. She hesitated but I avoided her pleading glance. I never told her about Neji but I guessed you could say Ino had a gift. She would stare at anyone and just know everything about them. Yet, she spent most of her days locked away from any social acquaintance, in a greenhouse at the state University doing research for the Botany Department.

I never asked her if they sometimes discussed it between friends but I could feel the tension whenever I mentioned a case including Neji: Chouji and Ino would exchange a meaningful glance, Shikamaru's face would darken and Kiba would grow quiet for a moment clutching Hinata's hand in his. In this exact order. They were as predictable as me.

"Tennie?" Ino tried again stepping in the bathroom.

"Hmm?"

"You look like a widow."

I smiled humorlessly at the reflection of myself. Dark hazel eyes, two steel orbs stared back at me. The dark lines under my eyes made them look sharper, their curve enhanced at their extremity. Those lines were the only guarantee that I wouldn't cry.

"Good," I answered simply, settling the brush down onto the vanity cabinet. "Very good."

It was the first time in years, my face represented accurately how I felt inside.

-X-

_Tenten ignored the whispers during the funeral but they were loud and harassing. They pounded in her mind, sneaked into her defense. She was breathless and hurting. They said they were a fake and a real widow attending the service. _

'_No, this can't be,' she shook her head and Ino held her hand. She turned cold when their eyes met. Suffocating, she muttered her condolences avoiding her teary emerald eyes and the golden band around her ring finger. _

_Sakura Hyuuga was pregnant with her first child when her husband died._

-X-

**Three hours after Neji Hyuuga's funeral…**

Loving Neji had always felt like drowning in dark heavy waters.

I guessed I had been just as blind as him. And Ino… it burnt my throat how they probably all knew that he had been married all along. He hadn't been blind; he had been in love, engaged and then married.

God, how could I have been so stupid?

Restlessly, I moved in my seat flipping through the menu. Finally, I ordered a scotch without glancing at the young waiter. I kicked off my high heels in frustration looking around me at the fancy hotel bar. I had chosen one of the leather seats near the window, where the whispers of the only other customers could barely reach me. Before me, the moon shone above the dormant city. The modern décor of the bar was reflected onto the scenery, melting into it. I wondered how it would feel to fall down into those lights and to breathe in the cold air as its speed broke my body.

I wondered if it would hurt less than the thought of a married Neji resting underground.

I wondered how it would feel to die.

"May I join you, Ten?"

Snapping out of my reverie, I focused on the tall handsome defense lawyer. Without waiting for an answer, Shikamaru Nara sat in front of me in a leather sofa. The waiter set my drink in front of me and the dark haired man shrugged languidly pointing at the drink.

"I'll have the same thing. Make it double, no ice."

I smiled sadly at him, the ice in the dark liquor clicking softly against the glass. I didn't need to be pitied or chaperoned.

"Did Ino send you? Because I'm fine, I just needed a breather."

The glint in his eyes revealed that he knew I was lying. I wasn't fine, I was drowning and he was dead. I took a first sip, the pain in my chest suddenly warm.

"That troublesome woman is dating Chouji, not me. I'm free to do as I please." He grimaced reaching for a cigar in his jacket. "Do you mind?"

I chuckled softly, taking a sip from my drink under Shikamaru's persistent glance. Somehow, I knew that he meant if I minded that he intruded into my solitude. Even back in law school, Shikamaru was lazy, his movements always languid but precise. He was a different kind of genius than Neji; he wasn't a prodigy or a natural. He was a strategist. Anything he did had a accurate, predetermined, calculated goal.

"You followed me?" I asked coldly, narrowing my eyes at him as he lit his cigar.

"I decline to answer, troublesome woman." He smirked watching me through the thick grey smoke, twisting around his cigar.

I looked away, following with my eyes, the cars and the pedestrians snaking in the streets. I shifted in my seat, his silence making me uneasy.

"Do you have a second one?"

I expected him to raise a brow but he nearly handed me a cigar.

"You are the most easy-going person, I know, Shika, but that doesn't make you anything less troublesome," I stated seriously despite the emptiness I felt gnawing my bones. The mask was back but the lines of the make-up faded onto the purple light of the bar. "I'll deny this if you tell Ino, by the way."

I lit the cigar, drawing quick puffs into my lungs. The smoke rolled onto my mouth and he was still watching me carefully. My head became light from the smoke and alcohol.

We talked about law, Ino and the others, probing carefully for any topic that could exhumed Neji's ghost from my mind. Our cigars lay in a pile of ashes in the ashtray at the center of the table, extinguished. The moon shone brighter and the glasses piled up. At some point, I had sat next to Shikamaru, my naked arm tickled by the fabric of his jacket.

"You know," I slurred, the lights of the city blurred by the amount of alcohol in my veins. "I used to smoke my father's cigars whenever he was away. Sometime before I got in, I swore to myself I would stop."

"What a troublesome thought," he growled waving the waiter forward for another glass of scotch. "I bet it's about lung cancer."

I laughed, my hand squeezing his arm. I felt him tensed and when he turned his face towards mine, his breath caressed my cheek.

"Not at all," I huffed. "I had to replace them because I knew my father would notice if one of his expensive Cuban cigars went missing. It burnt through my allowance money pretty fast. I just had to stop."

He closed his eyes, his head rolling back while his hand agitated the dark brownish liquid in his glass.

"What about lung cancer? It's always about lung cancer," he asserted in a low voice.

"Yes, Shikamaru Nara, what about lung cancer?" I cocked my head on the side, watching him through half-open lids. Then, I whispered in his ear: "What do you make of dying?"

"Nothing, it's too troublesome, and you?"

"They are other ways to die and other ways to suffer than illness," I answered bitterly reaching for my new filled glass. The script of a car accident played in my mind. I imagined how the smoke twisted in the sky above the car before exploding. Abruptly, I gulped the last sip, the alcohol burning my throat but I didn't care. It cleared my mind, quietened the raising voices inside of me. My skin burnt beneath my fingers as I massaged the back of my neck. By cascades, my auburn hair slipped out of my rigid buns.

I was exposed and I finally didn't care.

"You're beautiful, troublesome woman." Shikamaru's opened eyes suddenly stared at me, one of my locks twisted between his fingers.

I laughed shaking my head, pushing him away. I was drunk, hurting and hollow and a man was complimenting the mess I was.

Patiently, he waited, watching me, drinking one sip at a time. He savoured the liquor and me, closing the distance between us. Absent-mindedly, I felt his fingers on my scalp, his look travelling down my slender neck, resting on my cleavage before returning to my face.

"Are we at this time of the night when you tell me nice things before driving me back to Ino's apartment? I hate it when leisure time is over." I growled.

He caught my wrist when I reached over for my drink. His eyes fell on my high heels, as if he were debating something inwardly. When his eyes met mine, there was the cloud of lust and alcohol veiling them.

"No, we are at this troublesome time of the night when leisure time begins and I ask you: my place or yours?"

-X-

_Shikamaru became twisted the second he realized he would never have her heart. Slouched against the hard wooden bench of the courtroom, he saw the glances she sneaked at the Hyuuga dark haired prodigy. But she fought his partner with all her might; she handled the sword of justice like only a dedicated procurer would. His partner never noticed her; she was just this one procurer and he was a defense attorney. Water and oil didn't mix. Somehow, after years of watching, it still made him angry and cold._

_He loved her enough to wish for her happiness but not enough to let her go._

_Yes, Shikamaru would deny it until the end but he became twisted in the shadow of Neji Hyuuga._

-X-

"I don't want this to come between our friendship," I whispered my naked back to him.

My skin still gleamed from our sweat in the dimmed light of dawn. His dark gaze followed my slow movements as I gathered my clothes on the floor. My head throbbed and sobs fought their way up my rib cage. I struggled with is scent on my skin, with the thought of his hands caressing me.

One arm crossed under his head, Shikamaru watched me an unlit cigarette dangling between his lips.

"This was a drunken mistake and if you ever mention it I will deny it."

I suddenly realised that when it came to Shikmaru, there were lots of things I was ready to deny; Neji's death, the cigar and now this. Behind me, I heard him laugh lowly. He probably thought about the same things, probably saw through me. Sitting on the edge of his bed appeared as sitting on the edge of the world. Cold and faraway from any of them.

The mattress cried out in protest when I sensed him sit up. His fingers traveled like ghosts on my hot skin.

"Stop it," I snapped.

"You're troublesome." He muttered taking his fingers off me.

I pulled my dress over my head and my shaky hands tried to zip it up. His lips were suddenly on my neck again. He pinned me back onto the mattress and my breath caught in my throat when I sensed him against my thigh. I fought him weakly, eyes widened and lips still bruised from his kisses. The lazy young man panted heavily, his hot breath in my ear when he reached it. Slowly, he nibbled it and I whimpered below him.

"I said, stop it!"

His weight disappeared and he pulled me up again in a sitting position. I panted, I glared. Pressing my arms over my chest, I watched him warily. Unfazed, he pushed aside my heavy dark locks and he zipped the dress up for me.

"You will call me back, Tenten, and not just as simple friends" he whispered falling back onto his bed. "Maybe not today or tomorrow but I'm the closest thing you have from Neji and you know it. I'm the closest troublesome thing you have from fucking him."

My limbs shook when I stood up. I picked my high heels up and I turned back towards him only when my hand was on the doorknob.

"You're a twisted fuckhead, Shikamaru."

Without a second glance, I slammed the door behind me, my mouth still tasting of tobacco, lust and friendship.

He was right nonetheless and I wondered what that made of me.

I denied Neji's death when Shikamaru entered me. I even moaned parts of his name. Over and over.

Except Shikamaru wasn't Neji.

-X-

_They were both in love but it wasn't reciprocal. The slain couldn't love anyone back and so couldn't an anonymous dedicated widow._

_And so their tale began, devoid of love, hope and tenderness. After denial came anger and it consumed them both the second their lips met again in the elevator of the Department of Justice days later._

-X-

_**Since I'm experimenting with first POV mechanisms, I may do the second chapter in Shikamaru's POV. I still don't know; I guess it depends of how you guys react to this first chapter. **_

_**Challenge facts: 3347/10 000 words.**_


	2. Anger

_**To Chisa-chan: What a delightful surprise to see you wandering here! :P I'm glad you liked it despite ShikaTen's being a crack couple. (I will update Silk soon I promise!)**_

_**To Vanilla: I'm also a NejiTen fan, but I decided to let my mind wandered in unknown territories. Thank you for your review :)**_

_**To Near: I will change this story if chapter 627 is also rewritten. And I strongly believed it should be rewritten. A part of me died when I read it, so yeah… for now this story will be dark. Thank you for your review!**_

_**To Lily: Thank you for your review :) I hope you will still be giddy at the end of this chapter ^_^**_

_**Word Count: 4022**_

_**Warning: this chapter contains non-explicit sexual content and is thus not appropriate for very young readers.**_

Normal police_**: Shikamaru's POV**_

_Italics__**: Omniscient narrator**_

-X-

_Tenten still expected Neji to show up in court despite the funeral, Sakura's ring and Shikamaru's cigars. Her fingers fumbled through pages of notes and eagerly, she waited for his pearl orbs and the first blow. Instead, the lazy steps of Shikamaru Nara resonated in the courtroom. They held none of Neji's inhumane grace. Anger twisted in her gut more at each passing day. The genius was a usurper, filling a place that didn't belong to him._

_The sound of crashing cars rose within her and she felt death tightly wrapped around her body. Later, when she thought of Shikamaru and Neji for the first time as a pair, the walls of her office were the only things still holding her up. Breathless, she didn't feel the walls already closing up around her._

_It enraged her to think of Shikamaru's warm breath caressing her cheek, of his fingers ghosting over her rib cage instead of Neji's._

_Tenten became angry the moment she realized she couldn't deny the existence of Shikamaru's shadows twisting on her skin where he had touched her. They were a more persistent ghost than Neji's, she realized._

-X-

**12 days after Neji Hyuuga's death…**

The hallway was too narrow to avoid that troublesome woman.

"What the hell did you do to Tenten?" Ino shrieked standing in front of me, her blue eyes flashing with anger. In the kitchen, the sound of Chouji's munching stopped. That troublesome woman could make the whole world still, drenched in her anger and loud voice.

Our old men were friends, forcing us to grow up and play together to this day. Sometimes, Ino or Chouji could evoke our childhood with a mere smile and the memory would unfold before us, we would lean back and listen to the voice of Ino retelling it, adding all the drama she wanted until I yawned and Chouji laughed at her exaggeration. Tenten joined our group later on. She came along around the same time my two best friends started seeing each other, Chouji lost weight and my dad died.

I was never worried about losing my two troublesome childhood friends, but Tenten… Tenten was different, independent. She shared her smiles but never her thoughts; her opinion but never her memories of her childhood. All I knew about her dad was that he was a rich business man and that she used to steal his cigars.

"Nothing, troublesome woman," I answered my eyes wandering on a white vase that Ino had added to my apartment without asking for permission. It shone in the filtering sunlight of the living room's curtains, contrasting with the chaos of my law books and Chouji's recipe books. Typical Ino. She knew I would never say a word against her intrusion, mainly because it was also Chouji's apartment and partly because facing her was as troublesome as facing an army of hyena.

"Now step out of my way," I growled impatiently. "I'll be late for work. With Neji's death there is a ton of troublesome folders on my desk."

She threw her hands in the air, huffing but my eyes remained focused on the dying flowers in the vase. Anything but the shadows eating her pale skin; they screamed louder than any troublesome looming thought. I could still feel Tenten piercing stare following me, cutting through me.

The memory of her body echoed in my mind like the aftertaste of betrayal. Softly, I pushed aside, grabbing my briefcase in the process.

"You should have told her that Neji was married." I added quietly my hand on the doorknob.

I heard Chouji pushed his chair back and put his dishes in the sink. They crashed and Ino paled. I expected him to slip between our argument and drag his troublesome woman back in the kitchen but he didn't. Her heavy breaths filled the silence, her fists clenched at her side.

"Why didn't _you_?" She fiercely raised her chin and it quivered as she fought back the ball of guilt rising in her throat. She blinked the tears away, refusing to turn her stare away.

Because she wouldn't have heard me. I gulped, my face darkened.

Because I never wanted to hurt her. _'Then why did you sleep with her, you troublesome idiot?'_

"Too troublesome."

First, there had been Chouji's dark stare following my gestures and Kiba loud enquiries. No one knew where Tenten was.

She was everywhere but nowhere.

She still searched for Neji, ignoring his wedding to Sakura or her pain. I wished I could tell her it had never been about winning, it had always been about fighting. Because that, at least, I could have found the strength to tell her.

Even in law school, Tenten' eyes would search the room for fighters, her words would echo stronger than anyone else's. That troublesome woman could shoulder the end of the world as long as she could fight.

Then, she found a stronger fighter than her, a prodigy who never looked over his shoulder for an opponent the way she did.

Then, she tumbled.

"What did you tell her after the funeral, Shikamaru?"

Our guilt still quietly hung between us. Cigars, scotch and Tenten's dress sliding off her shoulders succeeded each other in my mind. I straightened my back. To any attorney, lying rapidly became like a second skin, like an ultimate shield against the outside world as troublesome as it is.

"I don't know what you're talking about, troublesome woman."

"I saw you left after she did at the funeral." Ino turned bright red taking a step forward. "What the hell did you say to her?" Her finger shook accusingly under my nose and something in my gut twisted. I knew I should have acted as a troublesome gentleman with Tenten and walked her back to her place. I should have kissed her forehead not her lips.

Yet, there was something utterly troublesome about Tenten not being troublesome as every other woman I have known, about the way her skin glowed when her hair spilled on my bed sheets. About the way she fought and shivered.

Behind me I could still hear Ino's pants. When I looked over my shoulder, her blond hair danced feverishly around her.

"Purely coincidental."

"You told her, didn't you?" Ino gasped and Chouji finally appear in her doorframe of the kitchen.

"Ino, please."

Slowly, I turned back towards them. I glared at him. That troublesome bastard held my glare, unapologetic. Did he hear Tenten leave the other night? Did he know? My inside turned to ice.

"Told her what exactly?" I choked out.

I leveled my stare to meet hers. Her pouty lips still formed a straight line but her eyes softened. She was no idiot but I never imagined she would have brought up the way I stared at Tenten or the fact that I became partners with Hyuuga with one goal in mind.

"Shika…"

She held my arm, her blue eyes running across my face. I wondered if she could see all the bitterness and anger that threatened to sneak between my lips.

"Please, Shika, fix this. She's our friend."

I almost laughed at the twisted irony and cruelty of her words. They echoed Tenten's wish and my voice sounded as sharp-edged as one of her troublesome katana that she hung on her office's walls.

"Sure, Ino. A friend."

Something glinted in Chouji's stare and I was certain he knew. I opened my mouth but decided against it. I slammed the door behind me, leaning back against it for a moment as I fought the conflicting emotions rising within me: anger, guilt, rage, pain.

That troublesome bastard.

-X-

_Shikamaru wouldn't let it go. Tenten avoided him and the others, burying herself in work, drowning in her cold oppressing anger that wouldn't release her guts. He hunted her down, chased her between adjourned sessions and meetings. It unnerved her, the wild chase, the late calls, his concern, his apologies muttered through tightly closed doors. _

_Because Neji Hyuuga never cared enough to do as much._

_Because Shikamaru Nara effortlessly beat her without staring back her. She came to him, bypassing his assistant without a second glance over her shoulder. At that moment, her heart was blackened by bitter revenge and the file she held weighed a dozen years. A dozen years of a man's guilt who would be released. Tenten Zhang didn't forgive nor did she lose. _

_When she erupted in his office, they faced one another like two wounded animals, like two angry beasts. Thus began the second part of their tale: anger. They were two days away from their second kiss._

-X-

**16 days after Neji's Hyuuga's death…**

She still dressed as a widow, I first noticed as I saw her roughly pulled open the glass door of my office.

"What the hell is this?" the procurer hissed throwing a file onto my desk.

It spun, opening in the process. I leaned back against my seat, lacing my fingers together as I took in her rosy cheeks and black make-up sharpening the curve of her eyes. I waved my assistant away when she reached for the phone to call security.

I could handle it, I could handle her.

"You haven't returned any of my calls, Ten. I figured that I needed to do something to get your troublesome attention. Ino is fine, by the way, thanks for asking."

"What the hell is this?" Tenten repeated louder, her stare turning to steel.

I stood up, brushing past her to reach a lower table where cups and glasses were neatly organized by my assistant. Annoyance abruptly burned through me; didn't she care about Ino or me? Why did she always need to be alone when it came to pain and sorrow?

"May I offer you something to drink?" I asked rudely.

I could hear her hiss and I felt her body stiffened behind me. Coldly, I faced her holding up the pot of coffee in one hand and tea bags in the other one.

"Tea or coffee?"

"You find this funny?" She asked quietly, her face darkening, taking a step closer to me.

In spite of myself, I smirked. I could see why many defense lawyers would find her aggressive and troublesome in the way she formulated her threats. Head and chin up as if she led a legion. This troublesome woman was an army on her own. Her small fists trembled at her side, her teeth gnawing her below lip. Slowly, I put the coffee and the tea down.

Hands deep down in my pockets, I stepped towards her and she took a step back, startled. I could see the sharp edges of my face reflected in her widened eyes. The back of her knees bumped against a seat.

"I'm not Neji, Ten. I'm a closer." I pointed at the file over her shoulder. "This is what I do; I close troublesome cases and I stay away from court. This office is my territory, so if you wish to ignore your friends outside of this office, be my guest but you certainly can't ignore me here."

I leaned forward my mouth nearing her ear. Her jasmine perfume overwhelmed me and I almost faltered and let my head rest in the crook of her neck. I missed her, it unraveled in my chest as a dull ache. Her skin was translucent over her delicate bone. I straightened my back avoiding her stare.

She must have felt my hesitation because something flickered in her orbs and spread across her face. Tenten didn't tolerate weakness. She furrowed her thin brows.

"The case, Nara. I'm here about the case," she reasserted emotionlessly.

Lazily, I picked up the file she had previously thrown on my desk and waved it slowly in front of her. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest, the blood rising to my face when my eyes found hers. Many times, I had felt anger when it came to Neji and the way he treated her, but it was the first time I was angry with her. It swept me up my feet and my face stilled inches from hers.

She didn't hear or see me as always: I wasn't Neji. I didn't fight or handle her like he did.

"This folder states that charges are dropped and that this man is free. End of the troublesome story."

"He's guilty, Shikamaru." She affirmed coldly, unflinching.

My mouth twitched. I wished she would flinch. I wished she could break down and forget her troublesome cases. Couldn't she just stop acting so distant, so unreachable? Did she really shrug off what had happened between us so easily?

Was that troublesome woman made of steel?

"The law doesn't state if one is guilty or innocent. The law simply states the troublesome guidelines in which one is found guilty or innocent," I clenched my jaw handing her back her folder. "Again, charges are dropped so there's nothing else to discuss."

She snatched it out of my loose grip, her red lips quivering from anger.

"At least, Neji wasn't a coward when it came to the law."

She spun on her heels and her words pierced through me. I stood frozen, as her heels clicked against the floor.

"At least, I'm not a coward when it comes to Neji's death." I replied flatly once she disappeared in the elevator of the building.

She didn't hear me, she never did.

-X-

_She was stubborn, hid from him and forwarded the files bearing his office's name to her colleagues. Shikamaru went back to the fancy hotel bar where he had seen her dressed as a widow for the first time, searched for her in the mist of tobacco and drunken couples wrapped in expensive clothes. Drunken, he later pounded on the door of her loft. She leaned back against the door, her hands pressed against her ears. She wished she couldn't hear the coldness creeping in his voice, the whip of truth._

_She was dressed in black silk when she told him to leave. She was in tears when he screamed back that he wouldn't, that he couldn't._

_Yes, Shikamaru became angry when he realized she would never allow him to erupt from the shadows of her life. When he realized that she would always keep him in a box with all of her twisted little secrets._

_So he followed her for the second time the next day._

-X-

**18 days after Neji Hyuuga's death…**

The music stopped, the artificial light turned bright red. The elevator stilled.

Her eyes narrowed past the surprise that still hung to her features.

"You followed me again, Shikamaru. I believe this is called harassment."

"You aren't his widow, Ten. I believe this is called troublesome delusion."

Tenten didn't flinch, her eyes still focused on the red button that froze the elevator in place. Her black outfit enhanced the translucence of her skin and the bluish circles under her eyes. She seemed exhausted in the red light.

"Shikamaru, I have an appointment in-"

"I don't care, troublesome woman," I cut her off impatiently.

Anger boiled inside of me. Couldn't she just stop holding the procurer's mask against her face? Couldn't she just forget about that troublesome bastard? Couldn't it all end with his goddamn troublesome death or with Sakura's ring?

"You look pitiful." I tried again and this time it hit her. Then, it hit me.

Her tiny fists pounded on my chest first. Her face contorted in frustration and she yelled insults. They resonated as loud as mine. I felt her nails breaking my skin. Rage and pain erupted on our lips as we wrestled. The handrail hitting our back as we pushed one another against the mirrors surrounding us, confining us.

I belted her wincing as she unleashed the rest of her vicious anger on my back. Loudly, the contents of her briefcase spilled at our feet. I pressed her hands against the mirror-like walls on each side of her head. We paused, my eyes traveled to her agape red lips. I could feel her chest raise and fall against my torso.

There was a sadistic bliss in feeling her anger.

"God, you're beautiful," I snarled.

Her knee shot up. Out of reflex, I released one of her hands to stop her from hurting my groin. Tenten breathed heavily and slapped me, sheets ripping beneath our feet as I threw leg around my waist. She panted.

"Ten…"

Her teeth suddenly attacked my jugular.

"Take your pants off," she growled menacingly in my ear scooping her skirt up.

I smirked, pressing my lips hard against hers, as my hand fought my belt off. Her eyes clouded and she deviously watched me taking my pants off on her single command, her head slightly cocked on the side. My hand griped the back of her head and I kissed her again. I growled when they remained still, frozen. I bit her below lip and when she gasped, my tongue darted inside her mouth. I caressed her tongue with mine. She moaned, her nails breaking the skin of chest. I left her breathless and I pressed myself harder against her.

"I told you would want me as more than just a friend."

"Shut up, _Neji_." A smirk graced her lips, her hair wildly cascading on her shoulder, as she pulled on my tie.

"Funny that would call me Neji, troublesome woman, because he wouldn't even call you. He didn't even know your name."

She inhaled sharply as I dove into her. Between sharp trusts, she taunted me throwing her head back and saying his troublesome name while smirking. I bit harder on her left shoulder, my hand forming into a tougher grip against her ass as I held her up.

"He's dead." I repeated it against her flushed skin at each of her moans.

It became a playful twisted angry game.

Being inside of her again was blissful, moist and tight. It wasn't as clumsy and tentative as the first time. There was no hesitation but Neji still stood between our bodies. At the end, when she trembled in my arms, her breath hitching in her throat, she whimpered parts of my name. It still made no difference. She was haunted, possessed by another. I only trusted harder, my sweaty forehead against hers.

As troublesome as it was, I didn't want it to stop. When I kissed her again it was slow and she didn't resist. As I deepened the kiss, I silently wondered what would happen once she would stop mourning, once she wouldn't be angry or lost anymore.

What place would then be for me in her life once Neji disappeared from her mind, once there would be no one for me to replace?

-X-

_That afternoon, Tenten fell in the arms of a man she least suspected she would. Every time it reoccurred, she thought she should end it soon. Today, tomorrow, in a month. Anytime. It always started the same way; first, there was the yelling and finally, documents torn at their feet before their body clashed against one another. Shikamaru thought he was addicted, Tenten merely thought she was mourning. _

_Anger could hold her up, she didn't need the walls of her office anymore. Anger could drag free her from her pain and Neji's genuine widow. _

_She found that it hurt less to be angry with him than with a ghost. It hurt less to spit her hatred at his feet when in fact she hated her herself for loving a blinded married dead man._

_In Shikamaru's arms, she vowed to herself she would never love again. Until the end, she held on to that promise. However, she didn't expect to keep sharing his bed long after Ino and Chouji moved in together or to marry him somehow along the way. But at this point, their tale was far from being over, this was only the beginning._

_At this point, their anger died out. Two weeks had passed since their second kiss._

-X-

**32 days after Neji Hyuuga's death…**

Sometimes, it was as if Tenten had a troublesome internal clock. Before sunrise, she would raise her head from my chest and slip out of my bed before I could stop her. As quietly as possible, she would vanish from my side. I would wake up in cold empty sheets with no trace left of her nocturne presence. Her body could have been a dream.

Sometimes, her skin tasted like a troublesome vaporous ghost.

It took me one troublesome week before I could wake to watch her leave. My head was heavy with drowsiness. I watched the immobile ceiling fan before turning my eyes to her glowing skin.

"Is this about lung cancer?" I yawned.

She laughed quietly, shaking her dark curls as she picked her clothes up. I bet she could hear the pleading in my voice: _is this about Neji?_

"It's about Chouji and Ino."

"Hm."

I reached for the package of cigarettes on the bedside table. Her naked back still faced to me as I slid one cigarette between my lips. Tentatively, I brushed her hair across her shoulder. I felt her muscles tensed and rolled under my touch but she didn't push me away as she used to. It got easier to touch her, my fingers moved across her front, beneath her breasts. I paused, gauging her reaction but her mind was already thousands miles away from me. I fell back on my bed glaring at the ceiling.

She was still unattainable.

"It's always about lung cancer," I muttered lighting the cigarette. _It's always about him._

She paused, the straps of her bra hanging loosely around her arms. I didn't know why but each time she sat on the edge of my bed, I felt she sat on the edge of the world and was ready to be engulfed by its gaping hole.

"We aren't a couple, Shika. We aren't supposed to sleep together. Ino will shriek and I… I don't feel like having to explain myself."

Patiently, she waited for an answer looking at me with tired brownish eyes. I dragged the smoke in my lungs, ignoring her. I didn't know what that troublesome woman wanted to hear. Was I supposed to beg her, to comfort or confront her? She sighed, her locks veiling her face.

"Chouji is sleeping over at Ino's tonight, Ten. You don't need to go."

She turned back towards the wall before pushing herself up, stepping back into her dark mourning clothes.

"We aren't a couple, Shika." She repeated and her voice sounded as if we were in her office and she had her weapon collection behind her. A goddamn troublesome wall that kept her from resting completely in any bed but hers. I bet she wouldn't even have let Neji take care of her or hold her. She was an aerial mystery woman that slipped through tight embraces and danced away demonstrations of affection.

I laughed bitterly, drawing circles of smokes in the silence that settled between us.

Tenten was born a widow, I decided at that moment.

She closed the door quietly behind her and I put out my cigarette in a sharp movement of the wrist. I cursed aloud when the front door of my apartment opened.

Sometimes, her skin tasted like ashes on my tongue.

-X-

_At that moment, Shikamaru realized he would never be able to compete against Neji Hyuuga's ghost. _

_Yet, he didn't care. Her taken heart didn't hurt as much as not touching her, not holding her down. His ghost couldn't prevent him from burying his face in her hair, exhaling her scent on her skin where he let his tongue and lips wandered. _

_Yes, at that moment, Shikamaru knew he couldn't compete against Neji's twisted ghost because somehow he had already won. He still lived while the Hyuuga died. Ghosts couldn't reach from their grave and that mere thought comforted him. After all, a broken soul was easier to love than a beautiful woman who solely noticed his rival and partner._

_For now. It was enough for now, or at least until Temari's engagement party as Shikamaru later found out._

-X-

_**Challenge progress: 7369/10000**_

_**Shika's POV was a lot harder than Tenten's POV for the obvious reason that I'm a girl but it was fun nonetheless. I hope you enjoyed it! :)**_

_**I wonder with whom I shall pair Temari... Hmm probably Sasuke (or Itachi?) :P Thank you for reading! I enjoy your support! ^_^**_


	3. Bargain

_**Please, enjoy! :)**_

-X-

_Somehow, Shikamaru could feel the atmosphere on the verge of exploding. He could feel the heat of imaginary flames when his hands roamed her body, the coldness of an impenetrable iceberg when they reached her face. The feeling lingered in the wrinkles of her widow attire he removed fro her body. He felt he would need to remove thousand other layers of skin and pain before she could actually feel his pounding heart. _

_It was wrong, twisted and selfish and he still hung on to her and her quivering hands and ashamed glance like he couldn't breathe without her, now that he had touched her. Finally. _

_Above all, he knew he couldn't go back to admiring her in Neji Hyuuga's shadow or to patting her back without undressing her afterwards. _

_It was about balance, it was about explosion. In fact, it was their residual anger that threatened them and pushed Tenten to stand later on a cliff, she would visit three times until the end._

_The next day, a small card arrived in his office in elegant silver handwriting. 'Bring a plus one, you lazy-bum! Or I will marry with a smirk on my face knowing you couldn't find anyone better than I since high school. -Tem'_

_They did explode, two days later._

-X-

**56 days after Neji Hyuuga's death**

The small card sat carefully on his desk, a perfect edge. I could see the exquisite calligraphy that announced a happy event. A wedding, probably. It tasted bitter. I could imagine Shikamaru setting the card, setting this trap, outlining so perfectly so that I wouldn't miss it. I averted my eyes, gathering my clothes on the floor.

The running water in the bathroom stopped and it was like we both paused on each side of the door.

I didn't know what to expect when it came to him. Shikamaru was chaotic, raw and he didn't care about fluff or flowers. He didn't care because he mostly didn't bother with more than mere necessities.

He erupted from the bathroom, a towel secure around his waist. Languidly, his body folded against the door frame. His calculating eyes rested on the untouched the invitation.

"You would know no one there, troublesome woman."

I gave him a sharp look, before pulling my turtleneck over my chest. It wasn't about knowing people, it wasn't about appearing with him. I shook my head, but no answer came. I couldn't explain it to myself. I didn't mind the sneaking around, the stolen glances and his hungry mouth when no one was looking. We collided in the part of the apartment he used: his bathroom, his bedroom. All his. I liked it like that. I abhorred the thought of him entering my universe, disturbing it with the trail of ashes he left behind him wherever he went.

"This is just a friend doing a favor to another friend, Ten."

He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding my glance. I didn't need to scrutinize his face to know he was lying and it angered me. I wished I could end this during those moments when his eyes were too soft, his gestures too tender, his concern too genuine.

Pushing him away always failed, however. He came back only stronger, more determined.

"Friends ask for favors, they don't set traps." I hissed coolly roughly zipping my skirt.

He sighed, reaching for his package of cigarettes on the bedside table as he always did when he was nervous or trying to control his frustration. Often, after he would hang up with a client, his hand would reach automatically for the package, knocking off half my jewelry on the floor.

"_You shouldn't put your jewelry in the way of absolution, Ten_." He would smirk behind a thick screen of smoke.

"_You shouldn't smoke so much, Shika. I could get cancer._" I would smirk back and the cigarette would end up in the ashtray.

I snapped back to reality when the mattress cringed under his weight. The ashes gathered at the tip of his cigarette, reddish, taunting and he lazily put on his socks.

"I'm asking for one troublesome night, not a wedding and for the records, I strategize, I don't set trap, troublesome woman."

"Simple nomenclature."

I turned my back to him, buttoning my shirt. I didn't know who explode first but our tone turned ferocious and we prowled, arguing in front of an imaginary judge. Angry, he looked more like Neji, fierce and refusing any bargain that may arise.

Neji didn't ask, he took.

"Tenten, please," he pinched the bridge of his nose, throwing his hands in the air. "I dated Temari in high school. If I don't show up with a troublesome plus one, I won't hear the end of it."

"Then, bring Ino or pay a woman, I don't care," I shrugged clasping my watch around my wrist. I could feel his eyes narrowing. We weren't done, we never were when it came to this. He took a deep drag out of his cigarette before letting it fall carelessly into the ashtray.

"You never stay the night-" the defense lawyer growled, approaching me with furious eyes.

"I stayed yesterday and I don't understand what it has anything to do with your ex's wedding.."

"It's an engagement party and it has something to do with the fact that you never get out of your troublesome loft. We are worried, Tenten. _I'm _worried."

"Oh, please! Let's be blunt! Are you trying to trap me into a relationship, Shika?" I roared, the words pilling up on my tongue and he cringed.

I panted heavily, my hair dancing savagely around me. Half-dressed, he stood up. Despite our closeness, it felt as if we were leagues away. His dark eyes hardened and I breathed in sharply knowing what was to come.

"Depends, do I have to die in a car crash to be allowed inside your head? Because if this is what it takes, I will have to pass, you twisted macabre woman."

My hand hit his cheek before I could stop it. He barely flinched still snarling. Pain and rage whirled inside me, blinding me. Still, I couldn't say it: 'we are done, you twisted asshole!' Maybe it was his pain that matched my own; we were both survivors, both used to being ignored.

It was physical, animal, a natural bargain that imprisoned us in our desire rather than in reality. So, we tangled our legs and let each moan make the first breach, excavate cadavers that could crumble in bed with us.

We hanged on loose ends but we were never done.

"Pay someone to accompany you, Nara," I leveled my glare to his, grabbing my purse.

I slammed the door shut, shadows of his kiss still burning my back and thighs. From the distance that settled between us, I heard him curse. I imagined him reaching for another cigarette, ready to drown in the smoke and raspy edge of tobacco as I opened the door of the apartment. I didn't expect him to reach for me. My gasp echoed as a tremor, my widened hazel eyes stupidly glancing up at his softened orbs. His arm snaked from its hold onto my arm to cupping my cheek.

"I'm sorry."

His fingers worked on my scalp and he drew me closer. He wished I would sink with him. My body perfectly aligned with his tenderness and his hopes that still lingered in his proposal.

But I didn't sink, didn't dive in his inhales to share them with him as he hoped. I was floating between heaven and Earth. Between Neji and him.

"I will think about it," I whispered softly against his chest but my mind was already set.

-X-

_Their tale approached its climax when they realized the room couldn't contain their emptiness; when the slain were freely crawling under their skin, their hiss filling the space between them. Only then, did they start to bargain in slow hushed voice._

_She still avoided the topic of Temari's engagement party and sometimes, they stilled in the darkness, their voice rising. Those nights, he held her tiny fists in his own, a cigarette dangling between his lips. _

_Yet, they desperately held on to one another because loneliness was worst. Clumsy arms closed around one another. Her chest was still empty but at least she wasn't alone, at least she could still close her eyes and pretend it was temporary._

_They exploded again, two days later, and when they did, Tenten drove the cliff for the first time._

-X-

**60 days after Neji Hyuuga's death...**

Shikamaru carefully stayed out of my way as I walked around looking for a file that a colleague had requested. The phone still buzzed from her incessant chatting. As if, she could help me find it through the telephonic line without reaching out of her office.

"You should become a defense attorney, we have secretaries that walked down our archive," he whispered in my ear, his hand on the small of my back. "We even have free coffee."

I rolled my eyes, stepping away from him before grabbing back the receiver.

"Yes? Kin? Are you sure I took care of that woman, I don't recall and her case."

"God, yes, Zhang! Keep looking, I need it for a hearing tomorrow!"

"I will call you back, I have a toddler of my own to attend to," I smirked at Shikamaru but he merely sat at my place, already playing with a package of cigarettes. I snapped my fingers at him and he lazily put them back in his pocket. Kin's voice rose in an annoying chirping until she hanged up.

"What is it, Shika? We agreed our offices were off limits."

Distractingly, I opened another drawer of folders. I sighed impatiently; the folders were pressed to tightly against one another that reading their name tag was practically impossible without pulling them out.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you look when you are angry?" He groaned watching me with a predatory glint in his dark eyes.

"We also agreed to no compliments, Nara," I snapped, my cheeks burning.

"And chocolate and flowers, yes, I know. But it was more decent to call you beautiful than complimenting the troublesome view of your ass you are offering me."

I sprang back on my feet, slamming a folder on the desk. Still glaring at his smug expression, I pressed the code line for Kin's office.

"Yes, I found it." Drenched in cold, my voice startled her and she miserably asked when she could pick it up. I almost answered in a bark until I hung up roughly turning towards Shikamaru.

"How about I let the troublesome McAllen case slide off my radar and you come with me at Temari's engagement party?"

He laced his fingers together as if we were on a business lunch discussing a real case. My work was everything I had and his mocking unnerved me more than I cared to admit at the time. Of course his office was larger as it didn't need governmental funds the way mine did.

"I don't bargain with cases, Nara, and you should do the same." I stated coldly.

"What will it take for you to come with me, Tenten?"

"Listen, Shikamaru," my patience wearing thin. "I have work, I will call you and we will sort this out."

"You told me this very line two days ago, Tenten. The party is in one week, can you just give me a troublesome answer instead of just running away every time."

I exhaled sharply tentatively reaching for his hand. The skin felt rough when he withdrew it from my grasp.

"You don't understand, Shika. I'm very busy and-"

"No,_ you_ don't understand," his bitter voice froze in place, catching me by surprise. "I agreed to everything you asked me to. I agreed to never mention Neji again, to let you dress like a goddamn widow, to never intrude in your privacy and that for the rest of our lives, we will be meeting at my place and never at yours. I'm asking you one fucking troublesome thing! One easy thing, Zhang!"

I could feel my hammering heart in my throat, deafening the impact of his words. I had seen Shikamaru frustrated, smug, impatient but never had it gotten to a point when he was simply utterly mad that he would refrain from his gentleman attitude; the one that prevented him from cursing in front of a woman or grabbing her arm so tightly as if to shatter her.

He inhaled and I smelled it in his breath before he even said it.

"I'm done with this."

-X-

_Their tale finally reached their climax when Shikamaru realized the only comfort she hoped for herself was a stingy blanket of pain. When he realized that she wouldn't sleep with anything else, tucked under her chin. When he realized it had never been about Neji, Sakura or the widow that stared back at her in the mirror. _

_It was solely about her and how she lived only from pain and sorrow._

_It had always been easier and she would probably cherish his memory the same way she did with Neji's. In pain and blatant black. That afternoon was the first time, she drove to the top of the mountain at the east of the city. It was the first time, she sat on the edge of the cliff, the wind pushing and sucking her in. _

_That afternoon, she erected her queendom of pain there. Laughing at the growing suction of the wind, waiting for a fall that never came. It was the first time, she truly wished she was dead. It cut her deeper as it had nothing to do with Neji for once._

_He hanged to his ghost the way she would hang to life if she were to fall._

-X-

_**66 days after Neji Hyuuga's death...**_

Like sharks, saleswomen surrounded us from a distance, hands clasped tightly in front of them, waiting, prowling.

"New boots?"

"Yeah, the others were falling to pieces," I cleared my throat as she flipped her hair already reaching for another blouse on the rack. Distractingly, she held up a cut throat black blouse pressing it against my chest. Her eyes briefly calculated how it looked on me before it disappeared back on the rack. Shopping with Ino always drained me from my resources; she wouldn't stop until she was done building herself, and myself in the process, a new wardrobe that could attract any judge's attention to 'my best features'.

"Shika's got himself a secret girlfriend," she blurted out suddenly roughly pushing a purple skirt from the rack.

"Ah?" I uttered miserably feeling her nodded behind me.

I almost wished the clothes would swallow me whole under the artificial light. The mirrors returned the image of a ghost and icy fingers appear to pull at my guts tightening it so violently that I thought I would retch instead of disappear.

"Huh-huh. He's been quite secretive about her," Ino continued oblivious to my discomfort. "He didn't even complain once. Not once! The way he used to do with Temari or the few other girls he briefly dated over the years."

"Wow, I'm happy for him." I managed to articulate but my voice fell flatly between us and I expect her to shake her finger under my nose, accusing and triumphant. Ino attacked with her teeth, swirling her tongue like the sharpest weapon. I felt her closing in, testing the stability of the ground. I knew her well enough to know, she only did so because the next moment she would be bouncing savagely onto it with all of her strength.

"Yeah, and Chouji tells me they are noisy during the night so it is surprising that he's not calling the bitch troublesome."

I winced.

"Why does she have to be a bitch?" I tried to make it sound indifferent as I pulled out an awful green piece at which she clicked her tongue disapprovingly. I sighed pushing it back where I had found it.

She stopped, abruptly turning narrowed blue eyes towards me.

"Because the lying bitch new boots have been lying in front of the apartment's last week and since I was on the other side of the door with Chouji, I'm pretty sure the bitch is screwing my best friend."

She faced me, her perfect thin eyebrow furrowed above intense blue eyes. I fought to regain my posture. I didn't expect a low blow in the alley of skirt and dress and suddenly I was the 'bitch'.

"Look, Ino..." I rasped thinking of law texts instead of properly defending myself. The outburst I expected was covered by frustration and betrayal, not by a frustrated, accusing Ino.

"Why the hell wouldn't you tell me you two are dating?"

I looked at her desperately and then, the anger rushed through her. I bet it was obvious in the way my hand ran aimlessly through my hair. Obvious and pathetic.

"You can't be serious..." She said slowly, wrinkling her small nose. "You are toying with my best friend, you bitch!"

I felt the embarrassed stare of the two saleswomen swiftly turning away.

"It's over, Ino, please. There's no need to get upset," I offered quietly wishing for our shopping trip to regain it usual boredom for me and its usual interest for Ino.

"You don't get to _'Ino please' _me even if it's over! I still think you are a cold-hearted bitch!"

"It's over, Ino. There's nothing else to talk about."

"Like hell, there isn't! He's mopping, smoking almost two packs of cigarettes a day so dare tell me this is over! I bet you didn't even try before breaking his heart!"

"_His_ mouth formed the words and his tongue moved as to produce the syllable that spelled "I am done." So yes, this is over and he was the one who ended it," I snapped barely containing myself. By then, the two strangers that have been circling us like scavengers were looking over at us with curiosity.

"Well, make it up to him by going to that engagement party!" She exploded shoving dresses my way and this time, the two women were standing at a distance with gaping mouths. "Get a goddamn grip, Tenten! Neji's dead!"

I stopped breathing and her yells became breathy pants.

Everyday, I woke up and I knew he was dead. Even the smallest thing reminded me of him and Sakura. The fact that he never loved me was just another ghost that haunted my gestures when I argued in court. I didn't know why Ino and Shikamaru took it upon themselves to remind me of his death, but I knew.

I could have died that day too and it wouldn't make a difference. I would still dress in black and pretend to smile at my friends when I felt like disappearing on the edge of a cliff. So, I threw back the clothes with more force and I shook, snapped at what I thought of her bitchy ways.

"You think I don't know, he's dead?" I hissed and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Please, Miss, stop!" A weak voice yelped.

We breathed heavily, ignoring the two saleswomen who didn't know on which foot to stand.

"Shikamaru is a great guy," my friend said finally, her index pointing at my chest; accusing and triumphant as I would imagine her. "And when a woman will realize that, you will just be a lonely bitch again."

-X-

_The moment she entered her loft, she slammed her door shut in frustration trying to keep Ino's voice out of her head. She didn't need more haunting voices telling her how little they thought of her. She opened a bottle of white win and poured herself a large glass. _

_She drank and she thought._

_She drank and she forgot._

_At the end, for the first time, Tenten chose someone else above Neji. It left her breathless, her head swimming in raw fear of rejection and bitter memories. She didn't let his spirit rest nor did she turned her head away from his corpse, the taste of alcohol still heavy on her tongue. She wasn't ready for that yet; she still needed the pain. She merely thought she owed it to Shikamaru. Because he was there and Neji wasn't. Not anymore, not ever. _

_So, she let his ghost slipped off her body. It disgustingly curled up at her feet. She stepped on it, tenderly, wearing a deep green gown and beige high heels. _

_The night Temari got engaged to Sasuke Uchiha, the widow was gone._

-X-

Purple and red lights shimmered alternately in around the modern restaurant. From where I stood, I could make out couples laughing and others solemnly shaking hands before smiling politely. I wondered where Shikamaru stood, how far civility he could bear before lighting one of his cigarettes, one hand lazily wrapping around the light in a dismissing gesture.

I gulped, a vision of his dark cold eyes sweeping by me when we met earlier today for the McAllen case. I didn't even flinch when the charges were dropped.

My eyes ran over the unfamiliar faces of guests, they moved, dancing and laughing as a single body in shimmering expensive clothes. They held their flutes by the tip of their fingers as they cared less about anything that didn't belong exclusively to their person. I inhaled sharply when I spotted him at the bar Around me, the cold wind blew colder, penetrating my coat and freezing my bones. Since he had walked out of my office without a sound, I hadn't reached out to him and so hadn't he.

Defense lawyers so rarely meddled with procurers and when they did, it was with their teeth and the claws.

They smelled of money and we, of justice. We could as well stood on distinct parts of the world.

I held my breath when a tall sandy blond woman approached Shikamaru, her red nails tapping on his chest. From the doorway, I couldn't make out what she said to him but he grimaced slipping hastily a cigarette between his lips. I pushed opened the door and the heat caressed in velvet sounds my cheeks. My earrings remained cold when it brushed against my neck and I felt sucked in a world in which I knew I didn't belong. Before I could took a step towards them, a tall man stopped me, a clipboard secure in his hands. So professional.

"Name?"

"Tenten Zhang."

He didn't even look down before scowling at me. I could see the reflection of my nervous state in his round sunglasses.

"I'm afraid your name isn't on the list of guests. This is a private event."

"I'm someone else's guest." I licked nervously my lips, but my innocent smile didn't make the icy mask waver. "Shikamaru Nara, you can check."

"Shino, let her through." A brisk voice ordered. I turned my head to meet the cool onyx orb of a tall man. His black hair with bluish light reflections blent with the modern décor of the restaurant. His dark blue shirt seized his muscles and under the intensity of his stare, I could feel the blush spreading under my make-up. I vaguely remembered seeing his pale face in the newspaper.

Shino moved away to another couple and the handsome man dropped his flute in a hands of a waiter passing by. With cold grace, he gesticulate for me to take off my coat. It too ended up in the hands of a waiter and then he placed his hand in the small of my back pushing me towards where Shikamaru was. A rush of adrenaline flew in my veins and I thought I would protest but it was all lost when the exotic woman that still had her nails on Shikamaru's shirt turned a surprise glance at me.

"I haven't never thought you would treat a woman with such disrespect, Nara. Who attends a party without picking up his date?"

"I was working late," I managed lamely inching away from the unpleasant warm hand still on my back.

"And I don't argue with troublesome women," Shikamaru slowly replied looking at me. The air electrified around us and when his hand took his place in the small of my back I almost sighed in relief. He smelled of pepper and tobacco, reassuring and strong.

Like missing pieces, the other couple folded against one another in silence.

"Cigar?" I demanded earning a smirk from him when the couple wrinkled their nose in unison. Without a word, he handed me a Cuban, lighting it for me. His hand trailed around mine and then released it with a light squeeze.

"You are Shikamaru's plus one?"

I nodded, smoke already rolling in my mouth, thickening my tongue.

"And you're Shikamaru's ex plus one, I presume?"

Temari polite smile's faltered as she leaned back against the handsome man with a calculating look. My mind clicked and I finally recognized him as the younger Uchiha brother. The brothers' legal office ranked second after _Hyuuga and Nara._

"Well, enjoy your evening, Miss...?"

"Zhang," I offered with a crispy smile. "Tenten Zhang."

They left, hands folded without a second glance. They nodded politely along the way in a brisk manner that characterized them both.

Shikamaru placed his elbows on the table waving a waiter over for an ashtray and another scotch. He took my cigar, drawing some of the smoke in his lungs before handing it back. He rolled back his head, the smoke slowly escaping his nostrils.

"You know, the dress brings out the green in your eyes," he smirked with one eye still closed. I tapped the cigar over the ashtray unsure how to answer him. "I'm glad you came. "

His fingers ghosted over my exposed neck, his itching breath caressing the nape of my neck.

"I'm lazy, Tenten, but I can also be a patient man."

I didn't want him to be patient, I didn't want him to wait for me. I wanted him to see past my best efforts, past the disdainful remark that were still perched on my lips from the encounter I had with Temari and her exotic beauty.

My green dress only meant that I could survive without black, not that I wanted to or that I planned to. However, his eyes remained on Temari and Sasuke, on the brutal way, she exposed her neck when she laughed and the way Sasuke's lips slightly curved upward whenever she did so.

And the look in his eyes told me, he didn't simply wait; he hoped.

-X-

_On her part, Tenten didn't hope for anything if to be able to get away before he could chain her to his bed and more. Before his friends would call them a couple while she still didn't love him._

_Sometimes, she would think about her green dress and lie it flat against her bed hoping to see what magic it withheld, what promises she vowed to respect by simply wearing it. Shikamaru wasn't let her go and neither was Neji's ghost._

_Trapping between in heaven and earth, little did she know, she was about to stand on the cliff again. And she almost let the wind break her body. _

-X-

_**Happy holidays, guys! :D Take the time to review and to enjoy some family time ^_^**_

_**There are two chapters left now!**_


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